WHO ARE WE
Sha Dor Press firmly believes in preserving and promoting linguistic diversity, and providing educational resources for speakers and learners of these languages.
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From our inception, we have worked with renowned authors such as Ambassador Mohamed Ali Ameriko; a Somali diplomat whose book is currently the “Best Selling” Somali book 2021-2022. Authors currently writing for Sha Dor represent various languages such as Somali, Oromo, Kiswahili, Hmong, and Karen. Sha Dor Press promotes new voices and perspectives by publishing in unique languages. We want immigrant populations around the globe that speak less commonly spoken languages, indigenous to remote areas around the world, to be able to access literature that is representative of their languages and cultures. We want to share those stories with folks interested in adding value to their children's life by exposing them to bilingual books filled with ancient and modern wisdom.
OUR MISSION
Sha Dor Press is an independent publishing company that seeks to print stories written in less commonly spoken languages such as Somali, Hmong, Karen, Amharic, Oromo, Swahili, and more.
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Our mission is to publish linguistically diverse books. Everyone should have access to books that offer mirrors (seeing themselves) and windows (Seeing the world) to celebrate our similarities and value our difference.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
After giving birth to her firstborn, Deqa Muhidin, pen name; Nura Sirad, started searching amazon and public libraries for Somali children's books. The handful of books she found lasted a few weeks before her son became disengaged and disinterested. The images in those books weren’t exciting, nor did they represent the Somali family's features and the vibrant clothes they wore. Frustrated, She vowed she wouldn’t only write Somali books and encourage others to do the same.
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Soon after, Deqa Muhidin founded Sha Dor Press with the intention of publishing her books. She was soon approached by friends and community members that wanted to publish their books. She began to help others publish, and it took long before she was referred to publish a world-renown Somali Diplomat promoting his upcoming book Danjire.
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Deqa Muhidin relied on her decades of experience in education to help guide fellow and aspiring authors to bring their stories to life. Deqa has an M.Ed. in Teaching Second Languages and Cultures from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities and another MS in Multicultural Studies. Deqa, a linguaphile who speaks four languages fluently, believes multilingualism breeds tolerance, respect, and understanding. She wants to support authors who write stories in their home languages.